{"id":393044,"date":"2026-01-07T12:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T12:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/393044\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T12:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T12:20:11","slug":"uvalde-trial-takes-dramatic-turn-as-key-witness-changes-testimony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/393044\/","title":{"rendered":"Uvalde trial takes dramatic turn as key witness changes testimony"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was updated at 11:30 p.m. CST.<\/p>\n

CORPUS CHRISTI \u2014 The trial of a former Uvalde school district police officer accused of child endangerment in the Robb Elementary shooting took an unexpected turn Tuesday after testimony from a teacher prompted defense objections and halted proceedings for the day.<\/p>\n

The shooting on May 24, 2022 killed 19 children and two teachers.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Hale, a former teacher at the school, testified that she saw the gunman on the south side of the campus \u2014 the same area where former Uvalde CISD officer Adrian Gonzales was located. Defense attorneys immediately objected, arguing Hale\u2019s testimony differed from statements she gave to a Texas Ranger during a 2022 legislative investigation.<\/p>\n

The jury was dismissed until Thursday while attorneys prepare arguments on motions related to the testimony. Judge Sid Harle is scheduled to hear those arguments Wednesday, without the jury present. The defense has raised the possibility of a mistrial.<\/p>\n

\"Judge<\/p>\n

Judge Sid Harle, center, talks with attorneys during a trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. <\/p>\n

Gonzales faces 29 counts of abandoning or endangering a child: one count for each child who was inside the classrooms. Prosecutors allege Gonzales failed to confront the shooter despite being among the first officers on scene.<\/p>\n

The first day of the trial in Nueces County began with a pretrial hearing to determine what evidence and testimony could be presented, followed by opening statements.<\/p>\n

Special prosecutor Bill Turner told jurors that Gonzales, a veteran officer, arrived before the shooter entered the school and had a duty to engage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not asking Adrian Gonzales to commit suicide,\u201d Turner said. \u201cHe was trained to go to the corner of a building and distract, delay, and impede the gunman while help is arriving. So why are we here? When a child is in danger and calls 911, we have the right to expect a response.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Special<\/p>\n

Special prosecutor Bill Turner makes his opening arguments during a trial the former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. <\/p>\n

Defense attorneys delivered a longer opening statement, walking jurors through a second-by-second timeline of events using aerial images of the campus. Attorney Nico LaHood argued Gonzales acted based on the information available to him and should not be held responsible for the massacre.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an animal involved in this situation, a monster, and he\u2019s no longer here,\u201d LaHood said. \u201cThat monster can\u2019t sit in that chair.\u201d<\/p>\n

During witness testimony, Hale\u2019s account became the focal point of the day. Defense attorneys said her testimony placed the shooter closer to Gonzales than previously indicated and accused prosecutors of failing to disclose the change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I have to ask these questions,\u201d said defense attorney Jason Goss. \u201cBecause the things you\u2019re testifying to today are not the things you told the Ranger at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Attorney<\/p>\n

Attorney Nico LaHood makes opening arguments during a trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. <\/p>\n

Victims\u2019 families expressed concern that the development could jeopardize the prosecution\u2019s case. Manuel Rizo, the uncle of Jackie Cazares, one of the 19 children killed, said the delay was painful.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re already anxious, and now we\u2019re upset,\u201d Rizo said. \u201cAll we want is justice for Jackie. It\u2019s been three and a half years, and here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Family<\/p>\n

Family member Jesse Rizo, center, talks to the media before the trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026.<\/p>\n

Criminologist Alex del Carmen, who has trained police departments across Texas, said the case remains difficult to predict, estimating the chance of conviction at roughly 50 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always going to be public pressure that a police officer should be given the benefit of the doubt,\u201d del Carmen said.<\/p>\n

Multiple state and federal reviews have concluded that the law enforcement response to the shooting was a failure. Nearly 400 officers were on scene, and it took more than an hour to confront the gunman.<\/p>\n

Gonzales and former Uvalde CISD police chief Pete Arredondo are the only officers criminally charged. Arredondo is awaiting a separate trial.<\/p>\n

Gonzales\u2019s trial is being held in Corpus Christi after a judge granted a change of venue, citing concerns that an impartial jury could not be seated in Uvalde.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A line forms at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, as jury selection continues in the trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was updated at 11:30 p.m. CST. CORPUS CHRISTI \u2014 The trial of a former Uvalde school…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-393044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}